By Adodo Osewengie
A former Nigerian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Amb Oji Ngofa, has berated Governed Nyesom Wike for wasting Rivers State resources on some numbers of flyovers in the state that have exhausted their usefulness to the people of Rivers State.
The former Ambassador stated that the administration of Governor Wike is not people’s oriented noting that the governor runs the state without consulting with the people of Rivers state.
In a statement credited to Ngofa by a Facebook influencer, Baridam Ben, he said Wike runs the state as a sole proprietor noting that his administration does not seek the consent of the people to make inputs were necessary to achieve a robust system of governance.
According to him, governance is all about the people, and any administration poised to make a meaningful impact at any level on the people needs to create the room for its citizens to have a say; by objectively contributing their tangible quota in what affects them.
Ngofa said that Nigeria operates a democratic system of governance that is all about the people being governed, stressing that the administration of Governor Wike has practically operated the opposite.
He said, “look around the state, and you will see that we do not have a governor in Rivers State.
“There is no governor in Rivers State! And I’ll tell you why, because when you’re elected, the purpose of governance is to bring people together, bring them to cooperate, to find the best ways to get solutions to their common problems.
“Democracy as a means of governance also emphasises that in governance, all you need at all times is the consent of the people, to take the people along; it is the desire of the people.
”As governor, all you do is to represent the collective desires of the people”, he said.
Ngofa revealed that the governor governs the state like an emperor who wants to foist his brand of tyranny and illiteracy on the people of the state.
He said the people of Rivers state do not matter to the governor of rivers state, reiterating that anything Wike influences and do in the state is a political jamboree.
He pointed out that Wike does not understand the rudiments of governance and indicated that the people of Rivers state are not his primary concern.
“But what do we have today in Rivers State?
“We have a tyrant, we have an emperor who wants to impose his own brand of tyranny and illiteracy on Rivers State.
“We have a man who does not understand what governance is all about, who thinks that everything is about politics. The people don’t matter”, he added.
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On the four flyovers constructed and commissioned by Wike in Rivers state, Ngofa said the governor does not know what “NEEDS Assessment” is all about stating that if he does, he could have consulted with the people before wastefully constructing four flyovers bridges that are about 200 metres from each other.
He added that Wike is yet to construct a new road in the state noting that all he has done was to resurface the roads constructed by previous administrations.
“Even when he’s building overhead bridges he does not understand what we call NEEDS Assessment and feedback of the people.
“Nothing demonstrates the wastefulness of Gov. Wike’s administration than to commission four overhead bridges within 200 meters of each other.
“What sought of madness is that, who is he trying to impress?
“That you commission one flyover at Rumuola, another one at GRA junction, the next day you commission another one at Mummy B’s road, and by the way, all of these falls under “urban renewal”.
“You’re not building any new road, you’re just resurfacing roads built by previous administrations, and the state is run in such a way that the principles of democracy are not adhered to”, Ngofa said.
Emphatically, the former Nigeria Ambassador to the Netherlands said the globally known people of Ogoni are the most educated people in Rivers state and as such, no sane-minded person will expect them to be governed under this kind of administration.
On his attestation, Ngofa said the Ogoni people are known to be bold, fearless, and always point out the flaws in any systems not minding whose ox is gored.
He added that the global vision of the Ogoni people can not be subjected to myopic thinking.
“And people expect us, very reasonable, sensible, logical, educated Ogoni people, people expect us to be under that kind of administration?
“The Ogoni people I know probably are the most educated people in Rivers State.
“And we are known for saying how we feel, we are known to be bold, we are known for saying it as it is.
“And that is why the whole world, the whole world knows Ogoni, and I can attest to that as a former Nigerian Ambassador to the Royal Kingdom of Netherlands.
“And so we cannot subject our global vision as a people to a local thinking”, he added.
Ngofa admonished Governor Wike that true legacy projects are not about building bridges stating that even a mentally unstable man can do the same if given the opportunity.
He acknowledged that true legacy projects are directed towards lifting the people out of poverty through sustainable people-oriented programmes, providing sound education and good healthcare systems.
“So let me educate Wike that true legacy is not in building overhead bridges, true legacy is lifting people from positions where they’re infective and poor to positions where they’re effective and have abundance.
“That’s true leadership. There is nobody who cannot award contracts to build roads and overhead bridges, even an idiot can award contracts, but real governance is to think deeply about how to evolve programs that can lift people out of poverty, that can give people education, good health.
“That’s real governance which is lacking in Rivers State today”, he added.
